Unexpected Parenthood
by Metanaito-kyou
Summary: As Sir Arthur trains to become the leader of the Galaxy Soldier Army, he also struggles to bring up a darling baby.
1. Chapter 1: Look What I Found!

**Author's note:** I wrote this for Vulaan Kulaas. We both agreed on Sir Arthur being Meta Knight's adoptive father ;) Enjoy!

* * *

Sir Arthur gladly threw off his armor and hopped in bed. It was a hard day and he was totally exhausted. He was commissioned with saving a certain planet from Nightmare's invaders. Planet Popsicle to be exact. He was one of the youngest members in the Galaxy Soldier Army and to receive such a position was an honor for him. It was his first time in command and he soon found out how troublesome and tiring being in charge was.

Laying comfortably and pulling the covers over his head, he soon drifted off to sleep. Dreams were barely starting to fill his mind when he was jolted awake by loud crying. 'Oh, how could I forget!' the knight thought to himself as he painfully jumped out of his cozy bed. Arthur made his way to the opposite side of the tent where a little make-shift crib held a crying infant. The knight prepared a bottle for the little one and hummed a lullaby. He knew that all the men would be grumpy if they were disturbed at such a late hour by the baby in his care.

After feeding the infant, Arthur gently rocked him back to sleep. Snuggling back into his cozy bed, Arthur recalled all that had happened…

* * *

 _"_ _Run! The monsters are coming!" screamed someone as the soldiers fell back. It was only a matter of time before the demons invaded the city._

 _"_ _Hold fast! We can't let them in!" Arthur shouted with all of his might. But it was of no use. Enemies flooded over the walls and into the last stronghold. Frantic people ran as soldier after soldier fell dead or wounded. "This is the last straw!" Sir Arthur shouted as the monsters began to kill the civilians and burn the city. The golden leader rallied his last troops and went all out against his foes._

 _With all the remaining strength left in the brave knights and with a tremendous effort, the enemies were routed. Staggering, the soldiers retired but Sir Arthur stayed to count the casualties. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a baby crawling out of a burning building. Quickly Arthur picked up the child and looked for his parents. All the knight could find was smoking rubble and dead bodies. After asking around, he soon found out that the baby had nobody but his parents who were deceased._

 _Feeling sorry for the infant, Arthur took him to his tent. There he set up a bed for the babe and bathed him. In a matter of moments, the baby was sleeping comfortably._

* * *

"Poyo!" the baby squeaked.

Arthur lifted an eyebrow as he wondered what the baby was trying to say. "I though you were sleeping."

"Poyo! Papa!"

"Papa? I'm not your daddy!" Arthur said in shock.

"Papa! Papa!" The baby continued.

Arthur couldn't help but smile. In a way, he was the little one's father. After all, the baby had nobody left as far as he could tell. Arthur sat up as he wondered what would become of the little fellow. Maybe, just maybe he could adopt him and find someone to care of him while he was away on missions.

Absorbed in his thoughts, Arthur didn't notice the enemy creeping up. Just in time, the emergency bell rang. Quickly Arthur slew the beasts around his tent. "So they're at it again." he muttered as he slipped on his armor. In a flash he dialed headquarters and informed them about the crisis and shortage of soldiers. He would've done that sooner had he knew the enemy would be so bold as to strike again in the night.

Arthur felt like hitting himself. Was he really so inexperienced that he could not have guess this would happen? He desperately hoped relief would come soon. Gently picking up the baby, he ran to join his comrades. "Evacuate the citizens!" Arthur commanded. The baby in his arms started crying and screaming as monsters closed in. Arthur ran but before he could entrust the baby to a civilian, the monsters surrounded him. "Looks like they're after me…" Arthur breathed as he labored to fight while still holding the crying infant.

Arthur opened his feathery wings and took to the skies. Apparently the monsters were expecting this and with well aimed arrows shot holes through Arthur's wings. Panicking, Arthur reverted his wings back into a cape.

There was no where to run and it was only a matter of time before Arthur was disarmed. He turned and shielded the infant with his back, praying for aid. Tears of pain escaped his eyes as the monsters tore his cape-wings to shreds. The pain didn't hurt Arthur as much as the realization that he would never be able to fly again. The infant was alright, but for how long?

Arthur breathed sighs of relief as reinforcements arrived and pulled him out of his predicament. Had they arrived even moments later, there wouldn't be anything left of the knight nor the child. Arthur passed out after making sure everything was under control

The knight woke up in the hospital. Around him were the faces of the nurses and his general.

"You did well, Sir Arthur. Planet Popsicle is saved." the general informed him.

Noticing the wounded knight's worried expression, one of the nurses assured him that his adopted child was perfectly fine. Arthur's cape-wings hung in tatters and the knight sighed sadly, knowing that it would never heal.

Soon Arthur recovered enough to fight again but what should he do with the child? He didn't want to leave him but duty was calling. An idea hit the knight as he ran down to his best friend's dorm. "Hey, Iacrea. You know the baby I picked up on my last mission? Well, I have to go now and…"

"You want me to take care of him?"

"Yes, if it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all. He'll make a fine playmate for my Jecra. But what's his name?"

A name… Arthur hadn't even thought about that.

"His name is… Meta."


	2. Chapter 2: Free Promotion?

The big, comfortable chair sat vacant, encouraging the tried knight to relax in it. Arthur knew better than that. He was reporting for duty and slacking or slouching would not be tolerated.

As the general sat writing out special orders, Arthur stood attentively. His mind couldn't help but wonder what Meta was doing right now. It was several months since he saw his adopted son. Far too long for any loving father but Arthur rested assured, knowing the baby was in the good hands of his best friend.

A worried expression, hidden by his armor appeared on the knight's face. Whenever his general took this long to write out the orders, it meant a hazardous mission. The last time this happened, he barely escaped with his life and his friend, Iacrea, was permanently disabled. Arthur shuddered at the thought. How he wished he was home!

"Take this to Sir Falspar!" the commander said and handed the orders to Arthur.

"Yes sir!" the golden knight responded.

Sir Nonsurat was leaning against the wall outside the door. At a glace he could see the note Arthur was carrying was of grave importance."I don't know how you do it, Arthur. I've been in the GSA for more than twice as long as you and yet you receive all the important missions."

"Want me to tell you my secret?" Arthur stopped and threw a glace at the older knight."I don't dawdle!" and with that the young soldier was off.

The older knight sighed and continued to wait. Nonsurat had been a member of the GSA for almost twenty years but only twice had he ever received a promotion. Already, most of all the younger knights, like Arthur surpassed him. Rumor had it that the reason the blue knight wasn't higher up in the ranks was because he was lazy and sluggish most of the time.

The veteran bit his lip. He knew the real reason but he preferred to keep it a secret. It was discouraging that almost everyone in the army surpassed him. It also didn't help that they made up rumors about him.

"Sir Falspar, huh? Even though I've never even seen him, it's like I already know him. He's rumored to be the strongest knight in the whole army!" Arthur thought to himself as he made his was across the corridors."Maybe they're all tall tales but I've heard so many outstanding stories about him. It certainly is going to be a pleasure serving under this great warrior!"

The young knight tapped on the door and waited for a response. He could hear giggling from inside. Since this was of grave importance, Arthur decided to go in, uninvited.

"Sir Falsp-" poor Arthur started to cough uncomfortably as Sir Falspar quickly turned his TV off. "Important orders, sir." Arthur handed the older soldier the notes.

The golden knight decided to take a seat while Falspar read the orders. "Watching such inappropriate nonsense!" Arthur thought to himself. "I wonder if it's going to be such a pleasure to serve under him after all!"

* * *

As the GSA cruiser prepared for takeoff, Sir Falspar explained the mission to his subordinates.

"Apparently, the enemy is making strange devices in a certain factory. It's our job to infiltrate and collect all the information we can." the green knight cleared his throat.

"Affirmative!" was the reply and in a matter of moments, the crew boarded the ship.

Once aboard, Sir Dragato took a seat next to Arthur. "This is your first time working with Sir Falspar, right?" the knight questioned. After a nod from Arthur, he continued. "I better warn you then. You see, Falspar is very… difficult. He hardly cares about his company's condition, all he cares about is fulfilling the mission. So you'd better stay out of his way. However, if you are a success, he will recommend you for a promotion. That is, in fact how I received my title as 'knight'. I suppose I should also mention Falspar's fun-loving side." Dragato rolled his eyes.

"I already know what's that like."Arthur replied in disgust."You should have seen what he was watching earlier. It was something called 'The Tiny Star Warrior'. And, you've guessed it, that rotten show makes fun of the GSA. Something like that should be outlawed."

Sir Dragato shook his head. "I better reprove him for that."

It wasn't long before they reached their destination. The ship cloaked and secretly the soldiers entered the factory. Sir Arthur carefully examined the area. He never seen anything even remotely close to this strange place.

A certain booklet caught his interest. On further investigation, he soon discovered that it contained plans to make powerful, artificial, life. Suddenly the alarm rang loud as they were discovered. Quickly, Arthur pocketed the booklet and drew his sword. Monsters blocked the doors and windows, making it impossible to quick escape.

"Time to shine!" Arthur shouted as he charged forward.

Cleverly spotting the weakest enemies, the golden knight slashed them to ribbons. Stronger beasts flooded in as the factory was set aflame. Seeing an opening, Arthur motioned for the rest of the crew to follow him. Falspar was still trying desperately to gather information. Dragato pulled the stubborn knight out of the havoc at the last second.

Once outside and in their ship, Sir Dragato looked after the wounded soldiers. Their green leader stamped as he realized all the artifacts he collected, were useless.

"Did _anyone_ find something of use?" Sir Falspar angrily demanded, hoping his mission wouldn't turn out to be a failure.

"I found this." Arthur handed the green knight the plans he found.

A smile carved across the green knight's face. "This will do just fine. You're Sir Arthur, right? I'll recommend you for a promotion!"

"See, what did I tell you." Dragato nudged the golden knight.

* * *

A/N: Hope the end didn't seem rushed. Just so everyone knows, I will respond to guest reviews at the end of each chapter but user reviews will receive a response in a p.m.

Storystosee: ^_^ Thank you for your kind words. I love the whole idea, myself.


	3. Chapter 3: A Nasty Temper

"Congratulations, Sir Arthur!" Dragato said to the new captain. "You're the youngest member to receive such an honor."

Arthur blushed as he glanced down at his shiny badge, which signified his new rank."Somehow, I feel like I don't deserve it…" he muttered as he recalled the easy mission he accomplished. "I had to work much harder for my other promotions…"

"Just don't let your fabulous success get to your head." was the response.

Arthur looked thoughtfully at the older knight. Over the last couple of weeks, Dragato had become a sort of helper and adviser to him. Something like a father he never knew. Arthur had lost both parents at a young age and there was scarcely anyone to take their places. The young knight's fists clenched; he was determined not to let baby Meta down. However, even though he had promised he would be everything a good father could be, he knew that the toddler needed a mother.

The golden knight was dragged out of his thoughts as he heard high-pitched shouting.

"Stand in my way, I'll make you PAY!"

Arthur bit his lip. That voice definitely belonged to Athena. She was quite a hot-head and very difficult at times but, even though he hated to admit it, he had quite the crush on her. He only wished she would quit causing trouble all the time.

"Wonder what it is now…" Dragato muttered. "We'd better find out."

Arthur nodded. He hadn't told the female knight about his promotion yet and he was hoping that she would be proud of him.

The two knight arrived at the end of the corridor only to find the restless girl shoving poor soldiers out of her way.

"Calm down!" Dragato ordered. "What did I–what did we all tell you about assaulting our men!"

The impulsive knight stopped short. She was still red with fury but managed to calm down enough to mutter: "Oh, sorry. I get in a flurry when I'm in a hurry."

Dragato rolled his eyes. She had a strange habit of rhyming randomly without even knowing it. "Do you want to be expelled for bad conduct or what!"

"Well, it's not my fault that everyone is such a slowpoke around here." She mumbled, her eyebrows lifting as she finally bothered to glance at Arthur. "I'm just trying to deliver these documents. And it's not like I enjoy being a messenger!"

"You can complain to someone else. As for now, I'll deliver those notes." Dragato said as he relived her of them. "Make sure this doesn't happen again." he ordered.

Seeing the corridor was completely emptied by Athena's fit, Dragato threw a wink at Arthur and was promptly on his way. The golden knight pretended to ignore the wink as it was clear that the older soldier was setting him up.

"So…What's up with the fancy badge?" Athena walked up to Arthur and inspected it.

"I'm a captain now and in charge of my own division."

"Well, good for you!" she smiled. "As a matter of a fact, I didn't know you had the stuff in you."

"You'd probably be sharing my rank if you didn't involve yourself in so many fights." Arthur frowned disapprovingly.

"I don't need to hear it from you–" she cut herself off, remembering that Arthur was now a rank ahead of her."What I mean to say is, I'll try harder to keep it down."

Arthur nodded and started to walk down the hall with her. "I have something to show you."

"So, what did you do to earn your spurs?" she pried, curiously.

"Nothing, really. Sir Falspar just made a big deal about my findings at an enemy factory."

"Wait a second there! Are you saying you went with THE Falspar and invaded an enemy factory and it's no big deal!" She stopped short with a look of amazement carved on her face.

Arthur was quite taken back at her reaction."It really wasn't too much work and Sir Falspar, not the slander his name, isn't actually as great as they say."

"Oh, really. Well, Galacta Knight is sure going to be jealous when I tell him about the whole ordeal tonight." she said more to herself.

This time, Arthur stopped short. "Don't tell me you've been dating him again!"

"Oh, come on, green isn't your color." she laughed after that as Arthur's skin was indeed green underneath his armor. "Don't worry, it's just in good fun. And I don't have to pay for my meals."

"Athena! You shouldn't play on other's feelings! Besides, I wish you'd stay away from him. He… scares me."

"He scares me a bit too…" her voice suddenly turned serious and her amber eyes glowed intensely. "Arty, I'll cut you a deal. I'll keep my temper in check and stop flirting. But, now that you are a captain, you must promise me, that you won't accept any mission to great and challenging for you."

"Athena…" Arthur tried not to stare at her.

"I'm serious! I worry about you, a lot."

"In that case, I promise, on my word of honor." he solemnly responded but he felt his heart beat fast.

"Good" she smiled" Now that that's taken care of, what is it you want to show me?"

Arthur smiled as he opened Iacrea's spare room. Sleeping soundly in a tiny crib, was Meta. The lad had grown quite a bit and was in perfect health. As the two adults peered in, the baby came to consciousness.

"Gabu." he muttered, sleepily.

"Precious!" Athena whispered. "But when did you–"

"No, he's not mine. I found him abandoned in the wreckage at Planet Popsicle."

"Oh. Well, he's so adorable." she cooed as she stroked the infant's cheek.

"His name is Meta. I was wondering if you could help take care of him while I'm out on not-so-dangerous missions."

"Okay, will do!" she responded.

Arthur smiled as Meta fell back to sleep. Visions of last night filled the young knight's mind…

* * *

 _"Exhausted!" Arthur said to no one in particular as he climbed into his bed. Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, dreams started to cloud his mind._

 _"Poyo…poyo…POYO!" baby Meta whimpered as he struggled to get attention. As it was not working, the infant resorted to crying, loudly._

 _"Almost forgot." Arthur rubbed his eyes and hopped out of bed. He preceded to mix a bottle together. Meta wouldn't drink though but smiled and stopped fussing._

 _"That's a good boy." Arthur gave him a pat and returned to bed. Not more that a minute later, Meta was at it again._

 _"Alright, alright." Arthur stumbled out of his cozy bed and checked the baby's diaper. It wasn't in need of changing, and Meta quieted down once more._

 _No sooner than Arthur pulled the covers over himself, the blue baby started to weep again._

 _"This is the last time I'm getting up tonight." the knight muttered angrily as he pulled a spare blanket down and covered Meta securely. A third time Meta quieted down but even before Arthur could step into bed, he started fussing again._

 _"So, you're not hungry, you don't need a diaper change, and you're not cold. What is it! Why are you still crying!" Arthur was running out of ideas but he knew that he needed to quiet Meta down or else the whole dorm would be wakened. "Do you just want attention?" Arthur frowned. "No, I got it. You're scared. But how do I unscare you?" An idea formed in the knight's mind and he quickly pulled the baby into bed with him._

 _Immediately, Meta quieted down and muttered 'papa'. Arthur couldn't help but smile. "My little troublemaker…" and they both peacefully fell to sleep._

* * *

A/N: Athena belongs half to me and half to Vulaan Kulaas. We kinda made her up together ;)


	4. Chapter 4: Important Decisions!

Arthur buckled his helmet securely and pulled his gloves on. He then looked himself over in the mirror to make sure he was completely ready. After all, very important meetings didn't come everyday and he definitely wanted to look as spiffy as possible.

As he walked to the door, Arthur threw a quick glance at the son he had taken 'under his wing'. Meta was playing happily but, on seeing Arthur leave, he crawled up and latched himself on the knight's foot.

"Oh, great." Arthur face-palmed. "Meta, what is it now!"

The blue toddler started to giggle. "Wants to come too!"

"Not now, you have to stay here." the golden knight struggled to gently pull Meta off of him.

Two big tears started to fill the child's eyes. He wasn't particularly being a brat. The poor youngster just hated being left alone. His only playmate was down with a cold and Meta felt lonely.

"I'm here to rescue you!" Athena walked in with a hug grin over her face."There's only one way to reason with a toddler."she grabbed a handful of sweets from a nearby jar and held them out."Meta, candy!"

The baby looked back and forth at the outstretched paw of candy and his adoptive father. Finally, he reached at the candy and fell over himself.

"See, works every time!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

Arthur frowned, hoping the child would stop needing and accepting bribes. It was certain that Meta had a terrible sweet tooth and a bad habit of always eating anything he could get his greedy paws on.

"Take good care of him 'till I'm back!" the knight said and dashed down the hall to his meeting.

"Noted," Athena mumbled. At first she did a very commendable job at babysitting. After a while though, her short attention span got the better of her and she was too distracted to see Meta devour the whole candy jar.

~Meanwhile~

Arthur walked to his seat and sat down, silently. He was a bit embarrassed as he was rather late. The knight glanced up at the audience. Across from him sat Sir Falspar, who blew him a raspberry. Dragato sat besides the naughty green knight and rolled his eyes. Nonsurat sat in a corner with a troubled expression on his face. Galacta Knight was staring at nothing in particular but had a sinister glow in his red eyes. There were a couple others that Arthur didn't recognize but looked equally as important.

The general stood up. His keen eyes mentally counted all the knights present. "Good, now that we're all here, let's begin." The elderly knight unrolled some thick scrolls and opened a small booklet. "Here we have Sir Arthur's discovery from one of the enemy factories. It seems we've recovered these plans just in time. If they were left in the enemy's hands, it could have caused serious damage. We have deciphered enough of this script to find out that it contains the means to build an entirely new weapon. An artificial life form capable of copying all kinds of abilities. Before I commission our scientists create this weapon we must be sure that it's a good idea. Thoughts?"

"I think we should go through with it! After all, we need all the firepower we can get!" exclaimed Falspar.

"It's sounds too risky. It is from Nightmare and we don't know if it would backfire on us." muttered Nonsurat.

"How dangerous could it be? We need to be at least a little daring if we want to win this blasted war." Dragato spoke up.

"We must use any means we can to defeat Nightmare. We must make this weapon!" agreed Galacta Knight.

The other two knights there voted on canceling the project. The votes were tied, three to three. Arthur thought hard. His opinion was the deciding vote. All the knight's there had very good points. This new weapon would either win them the war or cause greater destruction.

The golden knight glanced at the plans. Shown there was a picture of the final result. It looked just like Meta, only pink. The enemy probably designed it that way to cause confusion.

Finally Arthur spoke up: "Let's make it."

"Is that you're final answer?" the general questioned. At a nod from Arthur, the elderly knight proclaimed the meeting adjourned.

* * *

"Looks like those plans that I found were very important after all…"Arthur said to Dragato as they walked down the halls together. "I sure hope I made the right decision there. It would be bad if a calamity happened because of my vote."

"I'm sure it's going to work out just fine." Dragato assured.

"Say, I was wondering, maybe on our free time, we could go fight the enemy together. It would probably help a lot."

"That sounds fine. Our own sort of group, huh. What do we call ourselves?"

"How about…Guardian Soldiers!"

"Sounds good to me. See you later!" Dragato said and went to his dorm.

Arthur's smile faded as he walked up to his own room. Even through the thick door, he could hear Meta crying and sobbing. On entering, he saw Athena doing everything she could to make the toddler quiet down.

"What's the matter?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know!" she replied franticly. "I did everything I could but he just won't stop crying!"

Arthur sighed and placed the screaming child on his lap. But even Arthur's comforting presence wouldn't quiet Meta down.

"Are you sure you were watching him the whole time?" Arthur asked.

"Yes…Well, most of the time." the lavender female replied sheepishly.

Arthur rolled his eyes and continued to shush Meta. Little did neither of the adults know that Meta was suffering from a stomach ache, the cause of too much candy.


	5. Chapter 5: Trouble and More Trouble

Arthur snatched up his adopted child and placed him securely in the stroller. "Alright, little guy, time for a walk." he murmured as he wrapped the toddler in carefully and securely.

It was quite a strange sight to see a knight toting a baby around the barrack so it was Arthur's great idea to hide Meta in a buggy until they were ways away. The stroller itself was a rather odd piece but with a bit of paint it was easily disguised into a normal cart. The hardest thing about the plan was keeping Meta quite enough to escape the premises without being noticed. It was difficult, but rather fun. Usually this event was joyous but this particular time, Arthur felt blue.

On escaping the base and reaching a small bit of wilderness, Meta fell asleep in the cool Autumn sun. Arthur sat down and thought hard. He looked up to see Meta snoring on and blabbering some baby sleep talk. Arthur's smile turned into a frown.

"I really shouldn't keep you…" he whispered. "Even though Jecra is your trusty playmate and Iacrea and Athena babysits you occasionally, you just don't have a real home. My friends can't be with you all the time and as I go up in the ranks, I get less and less time for you. I think…I should find you a real home where you won't get neglected so much."

"Hey, Arty! I've been looking everywhere for you! You're suppose to be at that meeting!" shouted Athena as she ran up.

"But that not suppose to happen for another ten min-" the golden knight cut himself off as glanced down at his watch. "Time sure passes fast when you're not looking out for it."

"You'd better git going. I'll take care of this little guy." she muttered.

"…See what I mean…" he said more to himself.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Fine kinda dad I am. Meta needs a real father. One who's not running off on missions and meetings all the time"

"Don't you _dare_ think of giving him away. I promise, I'll take better care of him. Besides, you don't have the time to argue. Go to your meeting already!"

Arthur frowned and ran back to his dorm. He quickly made sure that he looked presentable and was off to the meeting. Once again, he was late and sat down rather embarrassed.

"We've just received news that our capital has fallen." the general proclaimed once he was sure that the required were present. "Fortunately, there were many survivors. However, the former wielder of the sacred blade, Galaxia died. We have decided to store the sword here until a new user is found. It is our our mission to make sure that the Galaxia is safely delivered. The enemy is well aware of our movements and are sure to strike. This is a life-threatening job so we will only commission one of you to do it if you volunteer."

Falspar hopped to his feet, but Arthur beat him to it. "Sir, I'll do it!" the golden knight spoke up.

"Very well, Sir Arthur. I entrust this mission to you and your subordinates." the general nodded.

At those words, Falspar reddened with anger. He believed Arthur to be too incompetent and he was sure that this mission would give him much more fame.

The meeting was adjourned and Arthur walked back to his room to prepare. On the floor, Meta was playing with Jecra and having quite a fun time. Arthur smiled at their shenanigans but suddenly the realization hit him. He stepped into the kitchen where Athena was cooking something rather odd.

"Something wrong?" the female asked rather bitterly. She was evidently in a bad mood. Arthur didn't know if it was because her dish didn't seem to be coming out well or it was something he said. The lavender knight wasn't known to hold grudges though.

"I just realized that….Well…" he mumbled.

"Quit blabbering. Spit it out!" she demanded.

Arthur took a deep breath. He knew she would be terribly mad. "The thing is…I broke my promise to you…"

"What!? What do you mean?"

"I just undertook a dangerous mission… You see, I volunteered to recover Galaxia…" he explained, knowing that she would understand what he was implying. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Well duh I'm mad at you! I don't care if it's your 'big chance'. What means more to you, me or your reputation? Well, I guess I got my answer!"

Before Arthur could make any sort of comeback, the outraged female stormed out the door and slammed it.

"Oh great what have I done now." the golden knight muttered.

Seeing his father upset, Meta crawled over and latched his little self onto the knight's foot. "Wanna play?" the child babbled.

Arthur's heart was melted and torn. He knew he had to make preparations for the mission but he wished badly to spend time with his son. "Sorry, but I…Have to leave right now…."

The little lad gave a downcast look but he refrained from crying, knowing that none of his cute acts could persuade the knight otherwise. Arthur gave his son a pat and was on his way.

"It'll be fine. Everything will be fine. She'll forget about it." Arthur kept repeating to himself. He couldn't make himself believe it though as he pondered his choices. Family and friends were very important but this mission just might mean his future…

"Sup, bro!" came the cheerful voice of Iacrea.

"Hi. Could you accompany me? I'm having a rather bad day. You see…" Arthur explained as they walked down the halls. They soon arrived at the landing where spaceships of all shapes and sizes were lined up. Arthur's crew was already assembled and waiting. With them was Dragato and Falspar.

"Falspar? What are you doing here?" Arthur asked as he approached.

"Clearly, safeguarding Galaxia is _waaaaay_ too important for a newbie like you to handle. I've been a captain much longer and I know all the ropes." was the curt reply.

"Well, there's no reason why you can't come along but I'm the one in charge."

"You _were_ the one in charge. I'm taking over." Falspar gave Arthur a sinister look that clearly meant 'Stay out of my way'.

Arthur bit his lip. Even though he was grateful to Falspar, his pride wouldn't allow him to back down.

"Don't let him speak to you like that! We both know that you're much better than him." Iacrea nudged his friend. "This is a matter of your honor. Don't back down now!"

Edged on by his pal, Arthur stepped forward."The lead is mine and you won't take it away from me!"

Seeing the look of determination clear across the knight's face, Falspar smirked."Okay kiddo, prove that you can handle it." The green knight threw his sword belt off. "Fist to fist!"

"Accepted!" Arthur replied with conviction and threw off his own sword."You asked for it!" Arthur shouted as he hurled himself in the air. "SPIN KICK!"

Falspar's mouth dropped in surprise as he took the hit. "I didn't know you could use fighting moves!"

"The befits of having a lifelong fighter friend!" Arthur threw a wink at Iacrea.

Falspar's eyes narrowed. He packed quite the punch but he was no match against fighting moved. Not willing to give up without a fight, Falspar aimed several punches at his opponent. Arthur proved to be too swift though. Finally Falspar yielded. Bruised with a black eye, the green knight left the battlefield.

Arthur wiped the sweat of his brow as he hoped he didn't make an enemy out of Falspar. Buckling his sword back on, he signaled his men to board the flagship.

"That was quite the fight! I never knew you were such a fighter." Dragato congratulated.

"I'm not, really. Only an amateur at best. Anyway, are you coming?" Arthur asked. With a nod from the knight, they boarded the ship.

"Goodby! Come back in one piece, ya hear!" Iacrea waved until they were out of sight.

Arthur waved back and sighed. Seeing the melancholy look on his face, Dragato wondered aloud if Arthur was scared the mission would fail.

"What could go wrong? All we have to do is find the refugee's camp, grab the sword and escort the people back to our flagship, and bam, mission accomplished!" Arthur exclaimed though Dragato could sense the worry in his voice.

It wasn't long before they reached their destination. However, the operation was ill-fated from the start. The strong winds whipped so much sand up that as the large flagship was landing, it crashed into a hidden rock. After some assessments, they crew was sure it would take several hours for the ship to be repaired.

Since it was useless to wait, Arthur, Dragato and a few other crew members departed into the wilderness. It was difficult to see clearly, as the harsh winds wildly kicked up sand. They marched for what seemed to be hours before the could make out people in the distance.

The survivors of the decimated city were all huddled together against the rough wind in order to avoid losing each other. There was a couple hundred in total. The civilians were excited once they saw Arthur's relief crew.

"You've come to rescue us?" One of them asked. "Well, you're just in time! Here is Galaxia. It's in a secure case, so you don't have to worry."

Arthur nodded as he grasped the legendary sword. "Our ship is a little ways out. We must hurry."

The ship was barely in sight when a band of monsters appeared, leaded by Kirisakin. Dragato lead the civilians to the ship as Arthur and his few subordinates took the army head on. They were sorely outnumbered and fighting a losing fight. One by one they fell, until Arthur was the last one alive. The knight fought with all his might but his sword was knocked clean out of his grip.

Arthur could no longer fly and his sword was no where to be found. In a panic, Arthur pulled Galaxia out of it's secure case. Lightening scorched the knight as he dropped the blazing sword, unknowing right into the enemy's grip. Dragato ran up and was able to pull Arthur away from the monsters. Once safely aboard the ship, they departed homeward. Arthur sat motionless, looking down at his scorched hands.

"We managed to save all the civilians." Dragato said, trying to cheer Arthur up. "And our ship can safely reach home"

Arthur said nothing and continued to stare at his hands.

"Arthur, what's wrong?"

"What do you think. I'm a terrible father to Meta and I just broke my promise to my girlfriend. Not to mention, Falspar probably hates my guts and now…now I just failed my mission."

"But, it wasn't-"

"It was my fault. All of it." Arthur muttered remorsefully as he walked away.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late update. Hope that didn't sound rushed.


	6. Chapter 6: A Sorrowful Tale

Arthur sighed and sat down on his cot. It was in the dead of night but he couldn't sleep. Not only was it freezing cold, but he was frightfully worried. He had just submitted his report and thought it might mean his his downfall.

"I didn't deserve that promotion anyway…" he mumbled. "I should just admit it, I'm horribly worthless. They'll probably demote me in the morning…"

Arthur walked over to the small cradle and peered into it. Meta was sleeping peacefully and for once was quiet and perfectly still. The little lad had grown so much but was still so dependent. Arthur hoped he could keep him but…but he felt horribly rotten doing so. He wished Meta had a real family.

Feeling downright depressed, the knight made his way to the cafeteria. At first he thought he was all alone but in the corner, he spotted Sir Nonsurat. The blue knight was drinking heavily but still seemed quite sober.

"Are you sure you should be drinking something so…strong?" Arthur muttered as he approached the knight.

"Why should you care?" the blue knight rumbled.

"I dunno…" Arthur took a seat and looked out the window. Cool winds wrapped around the GSA building as leaves fell solemnly. Arthur felt like those falling leaves. At first they were splendid with all their radiant colors but now they were falling and becoming a dull brown.

Nonsurat took another swig and began to stare at Arthur. "Don't let it get to you." he spoke suddenly.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I overheard that you're having a tough time. Don't let it bog you down."

"Why should you care?" Arthur mimicked the knight's former grumpiness.

"You like stories? Well, here's one. I've bet you've gossiped like everyone else. Always wondering why I'm so slow and such a loser. You've probably wondered why I never get promoted and why all the younger knights surpass me. Well, I'll tell you." Nonsurat's tone suddenly became remorseful and dismal.

"You don't have to tell me…" Arthur replied, figuring that the knight didn't like speaking about his past.

"I'm telling you this because it might do you some good. Don't you go telling anyone else, alright. Now were to begin… It was three months since I joined the GSA. I was quite a good soldier and I was the best of friends with Galacta Knight. The both of us were assigned to save a particular clan of people from Nightmare's tyranny. This clan just happened to be where Galacta came from. He was deeply worried about his folks so I decided to do my ultimate best. Unfortunately, the idea was so strongly put in my head that I sneaked over to the occupied city alone. I knew that once we opened fire, lots of the civilians would meet their doom. In order to avoid that, I made an escape route."

"It was a good little path and all I had to do next was inform the villagers about it. My plan was working out perfectly and in little time I was secretly evacuating the people. However, I should have realized that, in such heavily guarded city we would eventually be caught. I didn't though and kept sneaking people through. It was only a matter of time before the enemy spotted us."

"Most of the escaped people were put to the sword. Galacta's parents were among them. I couldn't defend them because…well, I had been in a few battles and I had seen men die but it was never so in my face. I had always been somewhat a coward but until this point, I kept it in check. Not then though. I ran, like the yellow coward I am."

"Galacta's family was entirely massacred but that wasn't the only thing wrong. Our small army was planning a surprise attack but because of the commotion I started, we were found out. Our camp was invaded and many lives were lost. We were able to fight back and take the city but it wasn't worth it with all those casualties."

"Galacta Knight hates me now and my name is horribly disgraced. I'm such a coward that I can't fight hard and nobody trusts me with anything. You might think that unjust of them but it's not. That ordeal wasn't something you forget about and live normally. I'm lucky to still be in the army at all."

"Well, I suppose you were wondering about me. Now you know. I probably could have mended things but I didn't even try. I don't want you to fall into the same lot as me so whatever you do, fix your mistakes and don't give up. I know losing Galaxia was rather a horrible thing to have happened but you can get it back. Unlike me…I can never restore those lives…"

"Now don't you give up or anything like I did. Promise me you won't" Nonsurat muttered and slowly rose.

"I promise." Arthur said solemnly. "Thank you, for giving me hope."

For this first time, Arthur saw the blue knight smile. "Think nothing of it kid. You just go ahead and fix up the mess you started."

* * *

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving!


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